Just finished watching it for the first time. For me, it’s the best TV show out there.
I think that with shows/films from the late 90s and early 2000s, there’s much more of an emphasis on atmosphere and tension through acting, whereas these days they make things too obvious for the viewer. There’s not as much subtlety, and obvious camera methods, close ups and so on spoon feed the viewer.
Some of the tensions and character building in the Sopranos was world class. The acting throughout was world class, and didn’t fall into cliched methods that you see across different shows or movies.
For example, I was watching Thor 2 the other day, and there’s a bit where Natalie Portman’s Intern interrupts her on a date. The girl starts grabbing their food rudely and talking really loudly with her mouth full, and comes across really arrogant and flippant. I see this particular style all the time in Hollywood productions and even in TV these days. I guess some of you will know what I’m getting at.
It was refreshing how “real” it all was, and that’s a huge testament to the cast and producers.
I’ll defintely re-watch it. I’m glad I watched it for the first time at my current age rather than when I was younger and wouldn’t have appreciated it as much.
Some points:
- nobody else could have been Tony and brought that show together as well as Gandolfini did
- Tony’s expressions were brilliant throughout, particularly when he was laughing or smiling because it seemed so genuine
- Tony (and all of them really) were highly emotional guys. Tony was shown to be but he was a smart guy too. You see somebody wrong him or talk shit to him sometimes and he lets it go, after thinking that he will fuck the guy up, but you know he’s playing the long game
- not closing out a particular part of a story arc was genius. Sometimes you think you can predict how the show is going to go but then they don’t address an issue again
- Isabella for me was the hottest in the show. As close to a 10 for me as possible. The chick he bangs in Vegas a close second
- Chris and Paulie’s relationship was brilliant
- the scene posted on here about Melfi almost asking for Tony to kill the rapist was incredibly done. I actually felt a bit uncomfortable during her rape scene and was surprised at how they did it given how things are these days
- Edie Falco/Carmella’s acting when she was hurt by Tony when they broke up was some of the best I’ve seen. Anyone who has hurt a girl like that before or been in a vulnerable state like that themselves will know how pure and well done that was. Her crying into that pillow was something else
- any red pill guy would want a wife like Carmella. She made the home, always had food on the go, supported Tony when he needed backing up (at the teacher’s meeting about AJ you think she is going to side with the teacher but she backs Tony up for example)
- Richie Aprile was the scariest fucker on the show. I wish he had lasted longer because he was genuinely one of those characters that had you on the edge of your seat. When he saw the maid’s husband wearing that leather jacket - priceless.
- Puss talking to AJ while wearing the wire was tense
- I really liked Bobby’s character. I felt sorry for him at first and thought he was a genuine nice guy that was acting up to his role in the family as things progressed. The train set thing was to me a reminder that he was just a big kid
- I loved Tony asking Paulie if he had Tourette’s. I’d noticed he had that little laugh all the time and thought it was good for a character in the show to address it
- although they were great characters, I couldn’t bear Janice or Livia
- I found the final scene with Junior pretty harrowing
- I found the development of AJ into a little bitch whinging about the environment quite puzzling
- I found the come and go nature of Meadow in and out of the show also a bit weak
- the guy going “oh shit!” after Phil died cracked me up to no end
Many more good points have been made in this thread but that’s my take without going a lot further.
I think that with shows/films from the late 90s and early 2000s, there’s much more of an emphasis on atmosphere and tension through acting, whereas these days they make things too obvious for the viewer. There’s not as much subtlety, and obvious camera methods, close ups and so on spoon feed the viewer.
Some of the tensions and character building in the Sopranos was world class. The acting throughout was world class, and didn’t fall into cliched methods that you see across different shows or movies.
For example, I was watching Thor 2 the other day, and there’s a bit where Natalie Portman’s Intern interrupts her on a date. The girl starts grabbing their food rudely and talking really loudly with her mouth full, and comes across really arrogant and flippant. I see this particular style all the time in Hollywood productions and even in TV these days. I guess some of you will know what I’m getting at.
It was refreshing how “real” it all was, and that’s a huge testament to the cast and producers.
I’ll defintely re-watch it. I’m glad I watched it for the first time at my current age rather than when I was younger and wouldn’t have appreciated it as much.
Some points:
- nobody else could have been Tony and brought that show together as well as Gandolfini did
- Tony’s expressions were brilliant throughout, particularly when he was laughing or smiling because it seemed so genuine
- Tony (and all of them really) were highly emotional guys. Tony was shown to be but he was a smart guy too. You see somebody wrong him or talk shit to him sometimes and he lets it go, after thinking that he will fuck the guy up, but you know he’s playing the long game
- not closing out a particular part of a story arc was genius. Sometimes you think you can predict how the show is going to go but then they don’t address an issue again
- Isabella for me was the hottest in the show. As close to a 10 for me as possible. The chick he bangs in Vegas a close second
- Chris and Paulie’s relationship was brilliant
- the scene posted on here about Melfi almost asking for Tony to kill the rapist was incredibly done. I actually felt a bit uncomfortable during her rape scene and was surprised at how they did it given how things are these days
- Edie Falco/Carmella’s acting when she was hurt by Tony when they broke up was some of the best I’ve seen. Anyone who has hurt a girl like that before or been in a vulnerable state like that themselves will know how pure and well done that was. Her crying into that pillow was something else
- any red pill guy would want a wife like Carmella. She made the home, always had food on the go, supported Tony when he needed backing up (at the teacher’s meeting about AJ you think she is going to side with the teacher but she backs Tony up for example)
- Richie Aprile was the scariest fucker on the show. I wish he had lasted longer because he was genuinely one of those characters that had you on the edge of your seat. When he saw the maid’s husband wearing that leather jacket - priceless.
- Puss talking to AJ while wearing the wire was tense
- I really liked Bobby’s character. I felt sorry for him at first and thought he was a genuine nice guy that was acting up to his role in the family as things progressed. The train set thing was to me a reminder that he was just a big kid
- I loved Tony asking Paulie if he had Tourette’s. I’d noticed he had that little laugh all the time and thought it was good for a character in the show to address it
- although they were great characters, I couldn’t bear Janice or Livia
- I found the final scene with Junior pretty harrowing
- I found the development of AJ into a little bitch whinging about the environment quite puzzling
- I found the come and go nature of Meadow in and out of the show also a bit weak
- the guy going “oh shit!” after Phil died cracked me up to no end
Many more good points have been made in this thread but that’s my take without going a lot further.
